Homemaking Journal

While reading the blog, Home Living, the other day, I noticed something on her sidebar in which she mentioned a Homemaking Journal. I was intrigued and went surfing to find out what a Homemaking Journal is. I found various examples from other blogs as well as printables to make up my own. One site likened a Homemaking Journal to the receipt books that Victorian ladies used. During the Victorian period, homemaking really came into its' own. Ladies began making notes regarding cooking and other homemaking skills in cookbooks which they passed down for their daughter's benefit. I became excited about putting together my own Homemaking Journal and did some further research for ideas. On Memorial Day I gathered various materials I had on hand and spent a delightful two hours putting one together. Actually, all the things contained in my Homemaking Journal were lists and info. that I had compiled previously but were scattered here and there in various parts of the house. The Journal keeps everything organized and is so easy to tote with me wherever I go. This week I used it at the dentist to check my calendar for a future appointment and last night I took it to the library and jotted down a note about a tape series I want to hear in the future. Besides all that - it's just plain pretty!


I used a 5.5" x 8.5" binder that I had in my desk and filled it with looseleaf, 3-holed notebook paper. Using plain, pastel cardstock, I cut and punched 6 pages for dividers. My dividers have the following headings:

* Daily To-Do's
* Meal Planning
* Homeschooling Notes
* Creative Ideas
* Bible Notes
* Gardening Notes


Within each of those dividers are several sheets of plain notebook for the following lists under each divider:

Daily To-Do's
* A printed-out calendar of June to make appointments - this calendar mirrors the large one in our kitchen
* Daily pages labeled Tuesday, June 1, etc., on which I record to-do's for the day as well as the menu for breakfast, lunch and supper

Meal Planning
* A running grocery list
* A running shopping list for other stores
* Meal Ideas (For example, when at the grocery store and am inspired to make a certain meal that week based on something I buy, I make a note in my Journal here to remember to make that meal this week. Also, if I get hungry for something throughout the week, I make a note here to cook it sometime soon. When daily planning meals, I check this list for inspiration and ideas.)

Homeschooling Notes
* A master schedule for each child of what subjects they'll study this year
* A weekly notes page for each child to jot down things regarding homeschooling for that child during the week (For example, if one needs a book from the library, I make a note on their list. Or if one needs extra work on an area, I jot a note to remind myself to assign more in their log of assignments.)
* A list of family read-alouds
* A list of all books read for each child
* A list of field trips taken
* A list of videos/documentaries watched
* A list of books-on-tape listened to
* Notes from this year's evaluation
* Notes from seminars heard at homeschool convention

Creative Ideas
* A list of blog post ideas
* A list of things to include in upcoming issues of my newsletter
* A page entitled "Inspiration" to make notes when I'm out and about of ideas that inspire for a project, ministry idea, etc.
* Books I want to read
* Videos I want to watch
* Tapes I want to listen to

Bible Notes
* Pages of sermon notes
* Pages of Sunday school notes
* Pages of morning prayers written out as I read through the Word

Gardening Notes
* Items bought for the veggie garden - amount and type of veggie
* A list of when items were planted
* A page where I draw a simple picture of where things are planted in the garden
* A list of what I do in my flower beds - when and what things are divided, cut back, planted, etc.

Front Pocket - Magazine articles and notes pertaining to current season for ideas I might want to do (For example, directions for a 4th of July favor, a note from a magazine to cut melon in 1/2" planks and cut with cookie cutters.)

Back Pocket - Copies of recipes to try and a list of menu items to help in meal planning

Wow. I think that about covers it. This post will either overwhelm you (I hope not!) or inspire you in the delightful project of creating a Homemaking Journal.